Canidae has denied that its pet food products contain acetaminophen, in response to a ConsumerAffairs.com article. Although the company is still waiting the results from the pet food products they sent in to be tested.

Canidae has cast doubt over the accuracy of Expertox’s findings of acetaminophen in a Ziploc bag of mixed dog food identified as Canidae dog food.

â€œThere is one report by one unconfirmed laboratory that has given rise to these claims,â€ wrote company spokesman Jim Mantych. â€œThat same laboratory also claimed acetaminophen contamination in other products that the FDA and the laboratory at the University of California examined as well and as to which those laboratories found that the claims could not be validated.â€

Mantych also: â€œWe do not put acetaminophen in our products in any way, shape or form, nor is it used in any of our ingredients.â€

He also said the company is taking the allegations seriously and have already sent samples of their products to be tested.

Expertox’s lab manager, Donna Coneley, confirmed the lab detected acetaminophen in the dog food, but stated the report did not specify the amount of acetaminophen found in the sample.

Since the sample was received in a Ziploc bag, Expertox cannot confirm the sample is a Canidae dog food.

Coneley also stated: â€œItâ€™s easier to say that we canâ€™t confirm something by looking at a few samples than to really investigate and continue investigating until you know something for sure.”

The FDA was contacted regarding Expertox’s findings and a spokesman said the agency is looking into the matter.

73 Responses to “Canidae Denies Pet Food Contains Acetaminophen”

I agree that the best option right now is for a third party to collect and have foods tested. My 11 year old cat continues to have major medical issues from tainted food (although we were able to bring her through the initial ARF) and I want to know what she can eat that won’t make her sicker! (OKAY, I cannot home cook because she won’t eat it!) I don’t give a d(*& about any particular company, I just want to know that I am feeding my cats something that is safe and healthy.
Thank you for the voices of reason because IMHO the emotional rants simply do not help us solve the problems. I understand the emotions, but if our goal is to force the pfcs to produce healthy, safe foods we have to work toward meeting that goal.

First, I am truly sorry for the loss of your pet. Unfortunately, many pets have paid the price for corporate greed. My pets were sick. There are absolutely no words that could possibly be spoken from the industry unless it were “we’re sorry, we found the problem…”. Don’t think that will ever happen.

I absolutely agree with your comment. Many companies will only give you the results of their production run tests. It is my hope that consumers would interrogate the results of a company analysis with the same passion they interrogate and question the results of a private analysis by a pet owner.

My point is simply that even though it may not be in accordance with chain of evidence, many samples are submitted in baggies from an opened bag of pet food to private laboratories and also pet food companies. It’s actually the way many of them request the sample. Thus, it’s really not that uncommon to submit in this manner.

It may not be uncommon to submit samples in baggies, but “chain of evidence” is not just an aesthetic concept. It actually matters, in terms of knowing whether or not the sample represents what’s claimed, and whether the alleged contamination actually exists.

Lis,
I am curious what suggestion you would give pet owners who open a bag of pet food and discover something “not right”? Should they just toss the bag in the garbage and forget it and hope nothing is really wrong? Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast from a legal standpoint when you are dealing with bagged product which often is purchased in 20-40 pound bags. As Don mentioned earlier, bags are not sold in single serving packages.

At some point we have to allow tolerance in the discovery process when dealing with these types of samples. If you question the validity of an open bag sample, then we could also question any company who has pulled samples from a production run. Are we certain they wrote the correct time, date, product, etc. It’s all filled with legal loopholes on both sides. However, I am willing to allow for complete and solid discovery after a sample of this type has a positive detection.

I wonder how people think the federal government sends samples to the lab ot the state government? One case I am aware of where the state picked up samples at some ones house they placed them in bags sealed them signed the seal then sent them via UPS to the lab . they did not take or request unopened bags or all the food the person had. In another case I am aware of the federal government picked up samples double bagged them, selaed them and some samples they sent via FED EX others they delivered to a lab. In neither case did the government ask for what people on this forum been speculating should be done.

I am curious what suggestion you would give pet owners who open a bag of pet food and discover something â€œnot rightâ€? Should they just toss the bag in the garbage and forget it and hope nothing is really wrong? Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast from a legal standpoint when you are dealing with bagged product which often is purchased in 20-40 pound bags. As Don mentioned earlier, bags are not sold in single serving packages.

In order to prove that the food is actually contaminated, you need an unopened bag of the same production run of the same product. A more quick-and-dirty test, with a sample from the opened bag, might help establish whether you’ll find it worthwhile to do that, but it doesn’t in itself prove that the food as it came from the factory is poisoned. It might be the best you can do as a first pass, but if it appears to show something, you need to follow up with the unopened bag from the same production run.

Mixing samples from different products in the same plastic bag is, I’m sorry, just plain dumb. Once the foods are mixed, even if you then separate them for follow-up testing, it doesn’t really prove much; they’ve had a chance to cross-contaminate each other, leaving you with no real idea of which of them might need to be followed up on.

Feeling aggrieved because what’s relatively easy and economical for pet owners to do when they suspect the food is dangerous is not by itself enough to prove that the food is in fact contaminated, gets us nowhere. It’s enough to justify additional, more expensive testing, and that’s it. Slagging off anyone who points this out gets no one anywhere. Slagging off the lawyers without whom individuals in isolation will have no chance of forcing companies and the government to respond does not–well, it may advance someone’s interests, but not the pet owners’.

Don Earl’s original sample was sealed cans; that’s the right way to do it if at all possible. Anything else only raises questions; it doesn’t answer them.

But I continue to find it interesting that the acetaminophen claims target very high-end foods that people switched to because of the recalls. And we don’t have the mounting evidence that we had for the melamine contamination. And when other labs do test the food, they don’t find what Expertox is finding. “All the other children are marching out of step” has never been a very convincing argument, at least not without really strong supporting evidence, and not just the fact that Johnny and the other kids clearly aren’t marching to the same beat.

September 9th, 2007. In a breaking story, both Itchmo.com and
ConsumerAffairs.com have reported that a private individual sent samples of dog food to a private laboratory for analysis and the sample containing Canidae (dry food) tested positive for Acetaminophen, an analgesic which can prove fatal to pets.

This is not the first time this year that pet food has been found contaminated with Acetaminophen; pets have died as a result. The pain killer is extremely toxic to cats who lack any enzyme to break down the compound. It is hepatotoxic in cats, dogs and people.

Expertox, the private, Texas-based laboratory that found Acetaminophen in Pet Pride cat food earlier and now Canidae dog food has tested between 100-150 samples for toxins and found Acetaminophen in five of those samples. Expertox has not released the names of all the companies whose food tested positive, however.

Canidae, located in California, vigorously disputes the findings and claims
that it imports no ingredients from China. Whether that is true remains to be seen, since I have not found any commercial pet food that could be prepared without at least some Chinese ingredients. For example, neither taurine, essential for the prevention of cardiomyopathy in cats and probably dogs as well is 100% sourced from China (no place else makes it anymore!). Similarly, most human and pet vitamins are exclusively Chinese produced.

Here is the results of a simple Google search I performed that located dozens of Chinese companies that make human and pet/animal feeds as well as acetaminophen. I have copied the web information for just one of these companies below:

For all these many new companies — producing food additives, parmaceuticals and cosemetics — cross contamination is certainly possible (it has been shown to occur in Chinese and US manufacturing with alarming frequency this year!).

The vast scope of this problem is mind boggling. Just this company alone
announces on their web site that:

….after pilot test, we finally put our new production line into operation,
with an annual output of 20,000 metric tons. High quality product with
excellent price, Be-Long is always ready at your service!

It is clear to me that the people and pets of China and the world are at
great, mortal risk. Only effective government — with its ability to test,
regulate and control the flow of products — can keep a nation safe from egregiously contaminated imports and corporate-compromised U.S. and Canadian production facilities. Yet in America, we’ve outsourced and neglected public health and infra structure maintenance and poured our last borrowed dollar into an illicit, illegal war in Iraq (and conspicuously, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office, into the unregulated bank accounts of war profiteers Halliburton et. al.). Ironically, it has been money borrowed from our massive trade deficit with China that has funded Bush’s war. It is this addiction to borrowed money that cripples our present response to toxic Chinese imports. Do not expect government help when determining a “safe” pet food for Fido and FiFi.

It is our children and grandchildren who, suffering degenerating health,
reduced prospects for future growth and employment and reduced longevity, will be saddled with incompetent government and incredible debt for the follies of these past half dozen years of unregulated globalization. We have left our progeny a cess pool of global proportions. Do not expect their gratitude.
—————————————————-
(c)2007 Dr. R. J. Russell & the CTCA

Folks, rather than scatter when a worthwhile suggestion is made, why not focus on getting something done? I’ve seen many good posts trying to organize people the last few months and they tend to dribble down to nothing.

Why is that?

For heaven sake, look at Disney. They’re going to randomly test toys through a third party. They’re not afraid to say so, either. We’re not Disney, but some organization or business might be our Disney if we can get it together.

Grieving families with ill or dead relatives aren’t accused of hysteria, or chided for negligence, for eating out or not cooking their lettuce. Nor are they EXPECTED to know how to investigate! That’s what the authorities are paid to do.

Of course, the authorities didn’t even warn Katrina victims that their temporary trailers were toxic, because the government might be held legally responsible. So much for responsibility these days.

Just so we’re clear. I don’t BLAME people for feeding commercial pet food. It SHOULD be safe. But I wouldn’t ADVISE feeding pets anything but people food you’re willing to eat yourself. Because if a HUMAN gets sick eating human food, the CDC will be on the case.

We still don’t know what happened to the woman who ate a bite of dog food to convince her pet it was people food. 1 bite and she ended up in the hospital. I’ve always thought the concentration was higher or the lab results were different than the FDA claimed.

Unfortunately, with the advent of the internet, forums and blogs, institutions and individuals can make anonymous claims which can be both true and false.

CANIDAE is committed to producing quality Dog and Cat Food. It is our commitment to provide your pets with safe, nutritious foods, free or wheat, corn and soy! Itâ€™s the CANIDAE way!

We are very concerned about the recent rumors spread on a few popular web forums. These are very serious allegations and they are not taken lightly. CANIDAE is working hard to acquire as much factual information regarding these allegations.

Please keep in mind this is a very serious allegation and we have already sent a battery of samples to be tested. CANIDAE is confident our result will show our pet food is free of acetaminophen.

Here’s what was said to be a letter from Canidae to a customer on this issue:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Valued Canidae Customers,

The samples were contaminated from the start. Without a new batch of samples the tests were all void. The person is unfounded and has not produced any test results or even called the Canidae Corporation to discuss their finds.

If this was you, wouldn’t you?? Please do not believe all that you hear and read.

Canidae is still one of the top ten foods out there. We were not involved in any recall and stand behind our products 100%! All our ingredients are either produced or raised in the United States. We test all products before and after production.

Canidae maintains samples from all batches made for over a year. We tested the date in question again with negative results !!

Without hard proof we can only take this as a hoax. Please put an end to this now !!!

Most vitamin pre-mixes for pet food come from China — and these same companies also make acetaminophen. It’s easy to connect the dots and wonder about the possibility of cross contamination from using the same machines without adequate cleaning between runs. It’s also easy to wonder what else might be in those vitamins, also not cleaned fom the machines between runs. Scary thought, since people and even babies take these vitamins, too.

Alternatively, who in the United States (company-wise) makes vitamin pre-mixes? Are there any companies? Which one does Canidae use?

It’s a good question to ask, but the answer, unfortunately, is most likely propriatory (sp?) information.

About 2 weeks ago we bought 7 cans of Canidae “chicken, lamb and fish formula in chicken broth” from Southern Agriculture here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was on a Sunday and I feed my dog Roscoe a can each morning for 4 days and Thursday night we here 2 thuds and awake to find him seizing. He seems OK now but this is very disturbing to me. I link his seizures directly to the dog food since he had never had it before. I called Southern Ag and talked to Stacy the manager about it and she did not seem too interested, knew nothing about Canidae having any problems and said they stand by their dog food. Anyway, I still have 3 unopened cans which could be tested. Any suggestions as to what to do? I am one pissed off pet product consumer right now. It is horrible to hold your dog and comfort him while he is having a seizure.

I have a retail pet supply shop in Oregon and im very upset and unhappy about canidae and there change in there formula with there dog and cat foods.They have now cut back on the rice and added 2 other grains,all for our pets health witch is a bunch of crap.adding a barley is the worst thing they could have done.There are so many dogs out there with allergys to barley. I have switched to Eagle Pack Holistic. they are doing great on this food. I hope to get my customers to do the same. Ive had cutomer calling and coming in not happy with canidae and the change. there pets are not wanting to eat this food as well.Canidae has Dimond making there food now,who had many recalls on there pet foods.so why would canidae go to this company?